GRANITE FALLS, Minnesota, March 20, 2025 —Pipestone carver Alex Lund will be featured in the upcoming episode of Postcards, which airs Thursday, March 27, at 7 p.m. on Pioneer PBS. This episode repeats the following Sunday at 7 p.m. and Monday at 1:30 p.m. Join us for an engaging episode about Dakota history, heritage, and art.
Deep within the grounds at the Pipestone National Monument in Pipestone, Minnesota, is a malleable soft stone called pipestone, primarily composed of clay materials mixed with iron for a distinctive reddish hue that has influenced Dakota culture for millennia and is used as a material in making ceremonial pipes.
Lund's early interests during his teenage years lay elsewhere in paleontology and geology; but, a pipestone gifted by his aunt was always sitting there. One day he started to craft his first pipe, and the experience ignited a deep passion within him. His self-taught skills were further refined during a summer demonstration with the elders at the Pipestone National Monument where his work gained interest. Since then, Lund has continued to carve alongside them.
The Postcards team catches up with Lund as he steps into the next phase of his carving pursuit by digging in the same pit his family used to quarry pipestone up until the 1970s. Only those from federally recognized tribes can quarry pipestone, and Lund finds it an honor to follow the same steps his ancestors took.
Individuals in Pioneer PBS’s viewing area can livestream this episode at pioneer.org/live. All episodes and segments can also be viewed on the PBS app and online at pioneer.org/postcards/, video.pioneer.org/show/postcards/, andyoutube.com/@PostcardsOnPioneerPBS/.
About Postcards
Postcards is an award-winning art, culture, and history program produced by Dana Conroy with videography and editing by Kristofor Gieske and Ben Dempcy. The program is made possible by contributions from the voters of Minnesota through a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. The 2025 season is made possible by funding from Shalom Hill Farm, Explore Alexandria Tourism, Lake Region Arts Council, KRAM 96.7, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, and members of Pioneer PBS.
About Pioneer PBS
Established in 1966, Pioneer PBS is an award-winning, viewer-supported television station dedicated to sharing stories from rural Minnesota with the world. Pioneer PBS is headquartered in Granite Falls, Minnesota, with towers in Appleton, Worthington, and Fergus Falls. Pioneer PBS reaches more than a million people in rural areas and small towns in western Minnesota, the eastern Dakotas, and northern Iowa. Pioneer PBS is honored to be your television station—the only station in western Minnesota telling your stories and raising your voices into the media landscape. Our members help make programs like this possible with their generous support. For more information about Pioneer PBS or how you can help us make these stories a reality, visit pioneer.org/support or call 800-726-3178.